What does TP mean to you?

Just looking at the various photos of all the recent and not-so-recent TP gatherings,it struck me how much of an effort members make to meet each other, and I started to think about what being a member of this community meant to everyone, and to me.

I became a member at the start of 2005 - I'd had a bit of a turbulent and restless 2004, and post Christmas I started to think in earnest about travelling. On one of the grey, anti-climatic back to work January mornings, google brought me to Travellerspoint.

Since then, it's been somewhere where I've whiled away the mind-numbing hours at work , made some new friends that I'll keep in touch with while I'm away I think , and hopefully helped one or two people too.

I have been poking around on the internet since 1992, and have been a part of a few digital communities. First there was the group at alt.society.generation-x news group, which helped me through the turbulent times of ending college and transition from being a student (which I'd done for 20 years) and into a member of society. The first time I ever had a "meet-up" with internet people was in 1993 in Montreal (of all places)!

Then there were the folks at stupidboy.com (which no longer exists), who helped me through a disasterous mourning period for a failed relationship in 2001 and 2002. Thanks to the discoveries made there, I was able to put it behind me (mostly), figure out that I didn't like myself much (even though other people did) and take steps into becoming the person I want to be.

Which included travelling! And that brings me to TP. I've posted and still post on a few other travel sites. Some are just too busy to have any sense of community and are just functional (Thorntree at Lonely Planet), and others have a sense of community but are just too small to maintain a decent pace of posting. TP has managed to grow while retaining the community, which is great.

So what do I get out of TP?

For me, it's a way to relive the travels I have taken, which have been some of the happiest times in my lives (or, I suppose I should say are the happiest times in my life, given that I am currently out of town). By posting about my experiences and helping others, really I am just reminding myself of good times.

Which, as with Samsara2, helps me through work!

But more than that, it's a constant reminder to me that the person I want to be isn't obsessed with work, lives in the moment and enjoys it, isn't afraid to go some place new or try something new, and takes chances when they come.

But more than that, it's a constant reminder to me that the person I want to be isn't obsessed with work, lives in the moment and enjoys it, isn't afraid to go some place new or try something new, and takes chances when they come.

One Sunday morning in February 2004, I was reading the newspaper and bumped into the centrespread which talked about travel. One of the sections mentioned about finding travel companions through the internet. So I logged on to google and look for travel companion sites. The first few did not interest me at all. Then, I came to TP. And the rest is history. Ok, rewind, rewind. Things were not as fast back then in 2004. Everything was still manageable by Peter and Sam. There were not as many regulars too. There was no chatroom! And I've also became a moderator in September 2004 (I think), and later promoted to the "MAD Moderator" rank a few months ago.

Like most of the regulars here, if not all, I logged on to TP when I'm at work, even when I'm busy! For the past "few" months (I don't remember how many anymore!), I've stayed up until the wee hours in TP almost every night. Those of you who know me well, know what time it was! Having said that, can I claim overtime, Peter?

I'm sure there are many others which I have not mentioned here.

So, with all that, what do you think being part of TP means to me? Two words. A LOT!

Curiously, I was looking for a journal on internet that had a password access. I say "curiously" because I changed my mind about the password protected thing: what's the point of writing on internet if you want to keep it secret? (still thinking about that though... )

Anyway, I liked the site because I like travelling, meeting people, and dreaming about new places. This site sums it all!

You guys are all friendly, and although I'm not here EVERYDAY, I like popping up once in a while, reading advises about future destinations, jokes by the Isas, funny comments by Cupcake, Hien, Tina, Ev' (and you all, you know well that I can't name you all!! )... And last but not least (huh, "least but nor last"? Which way is it?)... Peter and Sam are making an amazing job!!

My interest in photography and travels warming up eventhough i am a new member of TP.I felt TP is a meeting point for all of us as a member and may be to others who only surfing through ,collecting ideas and reading some of the stories and articles written by members about their experienced.it makes you grow some kind of interest.Photography is another attraction .You can learn new things here.Members are honest in providing their answer.New friends and thier willingnes to answer you in a minutes a day or latter,they will try their best to answer.They are the great and true traveller who loves to make friends and creates no enemy.

The first thought that entered my mind: I get to leave home without ever walking out the door. But, as with everyone else who has responded, it's more than that...

Like so many other members, I found TP through a Google search for travel information concerning Panama. That was in January, 2005 - a week or so before we were ready to leave on vacation. I also looked at several other sites but none of them were as informative nor as "comfy" feeling as TP. I posted a question in the CA/SA forum, and though I received no responses, I did find a thread or two where I could offer advice. I was surprised when the poster (Tarik - aka: Kingwindle) came back with a "thank you" and asked for more help. Considering that TP was the first forum site we had ever really visited, I was intrigued.

After we returned home, I started to slowly, but surely, log on to see what the other forums had going on in them. I would "sneak" into Off Topic but not post because everyone seemed to know each other quite well. (Little did I know there were several members posting away in there that had joined about the same time as me.) Then I started to sneak in, post in word association, and sneak out again. Well, most of you know what happened after that - the addiction took over and this soul was sold to the dark side.

As for "what does being a member mean to me"? That's simple. It means I am part of a global community where thoughts and ideas and advice can all be shared openly and freely. It means I am able to make new friends with people from places I have only dreamed about. It means I am accepted for who I am - my age, race, creed, looks etc do not dictate whether I am liked or not. To quote Ev -"I feel I fit in well" (at least most of the time).

The TP meet-up in Montreal was a great success and I believe it worked as well as it did because TP had given us a place to gather before seeing each other person. It felt more like a reunion than a first time meeting so conversations just flowed easily and continually. Seriously, how often do you get together with 8 other "friends" and choose to spend 3 days all doing the same things? It amazed me!!!

What does being a member mean to me? It means I will be amazed and entertained and taken at face value. It also means I can help others find what they are searching for - travel-related or otherwise.

I've been on bulletin boards for a long time. I got my first modem in grad 9 some 16-17 years ago. They were cool at that time because they were small communities of users with a kind of a local cafe like atmosphere. Then the internet came along when I entered university in '93. I never got into any of the chatrooms or online communities during that time. Too busy and I could never find any place where the discussion was both mature and open. It was always kids with their silly truncated words. I'm a very quiet person in real life. And I prefer the asynchronous communications that happens on forums. I can post anytime I want and not be expected to answer right away.

I post to two forums on a regular basis. One is TP and the other is a place called Usefilm.com which is a photo criticism/community site. Both have great communities where the members support and understand one another. Sure there's frictions once in a while, but people generally respect one another and work things out by themselves. What I'm getting out of these two sites is the chance to fit a social life into my crazy life. I think that's really important in today's world.

Oh, how I envy all of you who go to travellerspoint to escape from work. Woe is me, as for poor me, travellerspoint is work. Slaving away a few hours a day, according to my own schedule, being forced to develop incredibly cool new features, always having to do stuff I really like, like playing with new technology, never a month or two that I'm not able to just pick up and go travelling, having to face the fact that my bosses still travel way more than I do... And then in my free time, I still spend time here, reading and posting on a forum filled with cool people, helping people and seeing feature requests and in that way thinking about work-things even when I'm not working.